For the firefighters at Guyasuta Volunteer Fire Department in O’Hara, having a rabbi as their first chaplain is not a religious issue. “It’s interesting because few of our members are Jewish, but that did not enter the discussion when we discussed having a chaplain,” said 11-year member Dr. Steven Reise, of O’Hara.As one of those Jewish members, Reise said he was a little worried at first.
“I was unsure how people would feel,” he said. “But I brought it to the board, and everyone was enthusiastic.”
The chaplain, Rabbi Ely Rosenfeld, approached Reise with the idea about nine months ago after witnessing a fire across the street from the center.
“I was fascinated by what they do and how it’s all volunteer,” Rosenfeld, 29, of Fox Chapel, said.
He explained his role at Guyasuta as a dual service. The first part of involves the fire victims and their families, Rosenfeld said.
And like the others, Rosenfeld doesn’t count religion as an issue. He doesn’t look at the department as Jewish or Christian. “It’s based around neither,” he said. His message is community and bonding, not debating or implementing religion.
Although he’s never been chaplain for a fire department before, he has played the role in the Allegheny County Jail. “In prison, they weren’t looking for rabbis,” Rosenfeld said.
And it’s the same with the fire department. “They’re looking for someone to relate to,” he said.
Guyasuta Chief Mike Dortenzo, of O’Hara, said having a chaplain was long overdue for the more-than-50-year-old organization. “We felt that it was needed,” he said.
Rosenfeld was selected in mid-January, Dortenzo said, and despite the fact that only about one-fifth of the department’s 20 active members are Jewish, he immediately was welcomed.
“They’ve accepted the rabbi just as they’ve accepted any other members that have joined in the past,” Dortenzo said.
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Rabbi Ely was in the Lubavitcher Yeshiva in London with me, when we were in our early teens. He is a real mentch. In addition to him being the Chaplain and Shliach in Fox Chapel, I think he father who is a Shliach in Pitsburg, is the Chaplain there.